Quote Originally Posted by El Kabong View Post
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Shane Mosley

Those guys could flash the speed and skill but when they needed to slug it out they'd slug it out.
3xSugar!

1. Sugar Ray Robinson, truly the epitome of this topic.

2. ...Ray Leonard is a boxer-puncher but we'll break it down last...

3 .Sugar Shane, sound boxer- fits this to the "T".
IMO his knockout streak ended because he moved out of his best weight class to chase the golden egg (DLH), then found himself out of his (physical league) Forrest & Winky. LW he would've kept knockin' mofos out.

Now on Ray L...

Here's where I'll get some flack ...
Ray Leonard IMO is the most overated boxer I can think of...hold on!!! But the most underated brawler I can think of.
As I debated with Master that Benitez vs Leonard was something of a chess match turned war.
At one point they are toe-to-toe -throwing combos...in the phonebooth.
My point : Ray couldn't outbox Benitez, he had to whoop his azz.

1st title defense vs. 12 year-veteran LW champ Roberto Duran who beat Ray's ass fight I.
Conventional wisdom says Duran got into Ray's head, so he fought the wrong strategy then claim fight II proved it.

However: Fight II was not a boxing lesson, rather a guy (Ray)who refused to get entangled in a brawl- He fought smart enough to frustrate a guy to quit while taunting him & doing ALOT of moving.

That fight is like Ali's rope-a-dope against Forman: a one-trick-pony that can't be taught or duplicated.
Duran to me...proved Leonard's win over him wasn't that great of a feat as Duran went on to lose every major fight afterwards. Outside of Cuevas & Barkley; Duran got outboxed by Benitez, upset of the year against Laing, loss to Haglar, KTFO'd by Hearns, Sims, Pazienza, Camacho, Joppy.
Point again: The scores basically showed 4 rounds to 3 going into the 8th- not a shutout, or a clinic.

Ray fights Hearns a brawler with who we now know has a suspect chin- Ray's underated power IMO is what caused Hearns to go unorthodox- and box. Why else did he resort to the jab?
One of my favorite cornermen moments solidifies my arguement when Dundee told Ray going into the 14th "Ya blowin' it kid! This is where we separate the boys from the men, ya blowin' it"

Question What was Dundee saying other than: Your boxing skills don't compare to this kid's jab, reach and range, so fuck it...whoop his ass!


Last-His comeback fight with Lalonde, Donny was hangin' and up on one card- Ray brought the dog out and KTFO'd him. No Bernard Hopkins style clinic. He had to stop Lalonde to win.

Hearns II comes years later...after Barkley sparked his ass & that was a bullshit draw all-day-we all know it, why? Because Ray could never outbox a KO artist named Hearns with a suspect chin.

Then fights a fat chaloopa of a Duran for a 3rd time ending his career by getting outboxed by Norris and knocked out by of all people, Camacho.

Ray Leonard's career proved his boxing skills was compromised continously, but his chin & heart would deliver by turning from boxer to puncher.

Had Ray not have the puncher's mentality- he would've folded in the 9th or 10th with Haglar- BUT the dog came out.